Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Given New $625.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $580.00 to $625.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the aerospace company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 17.74% from the company's current price.

NOC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $548.88.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE NOC traded down $9.56 on Wednesday, hitting $530.83. 1,342,776 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 867,309. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $488.43 and a 200 day moving average of $491.50. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $76.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 12.6% in the first quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 860 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $440,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 126.5% during the 1st quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 7,708 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,947,000 after purchasing an additional 4,305 shares in the last quarter. River Street Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 90.5% in the 1st quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 3,164 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 41.7% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 131,585 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $67,373,000 after purchasing an additional 38,749 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 13.0% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,420 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,751,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense technology company in the United States, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and internationally. The company's Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems. This segment also offers unmanned autonomous aircraft systems, including high-altitude long-endurance strategic ISR systems and vertical take-off and landing tactical ISR systems; and strategic long-range strike aircraft, tactical fighter and air dominance aircraft, and airborne battle management and command and control systems.